Paley Pocket Park
During the late 19th century parks and urban planning became equated with art and civic virtue. The number of parks increased drastically throughout the early nineteenth century and received a boost from the City Beautiful Movement in the 1930’s. As the century progressed the exponential population growth and increasing urbanization in America only created greater need for city parks. Parks created an area for recreation and relaxation for city dwellers to get away from the hectic commotion. Although parks had long been used in urban areas, in the 1960’s urban planner Robert Zion, of Zion & Breen developed a new idea that he called a ‘vest pocket park.’ A pocket park is a small urban park usually located on no more than one building plot. Zion had the opportunity in 1967 to implement his park idea only blocks away from Olmstead’s Central Park. Paley Park is located on 53rd Street between Madison and 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan. Paley Park successfully exemplifies Zion’s idea through the planning stage, its accomplishments, and the precedent it set for small urban park designs. In 1963 Robert Zion proposed his new idea for a public park to the Architecture League of New York, where former CBS Chairmen William Paley first heard the idea. Paley immediately offered the former location of the Stork Club for Zion’s project and became an integral part of the process from then on. Paley owned the building plot, which was surrounded by three high rises, an ideal location for Zion’s pocket park. He had been looking to memorialize his father, Samuel Paley a wealthy cigar maker, and this was the perfect opportunity. The park is located in the New York City, where the population is over eight million people and the median per capita income is barely of $30,000 a year. Despite this fact, the people who visit Paley’s Park often make up a much different segment of the population. Since the park is located in midtown Manhattan the visitors are often employees or customers of high end businesses. The park was the idea of Robert Zion, but the pet project of William Paley. Paley not only donated the land, but he also contributed $700,000 to the design and building of the park. Since Paley had donated the land and funded the entire project, there was little to no political opposition to the project. The project was completed entirely with private funds and is a privately owned park, which is open to the public. Zion’s idea of a pocket park came to fruition after only four years of design and construction, Paley Park opened to the public in 1967.4 The parks intimate nature made its inhabitants feel comfortable and became an instant success. The park is on a 4,200 square foot or 1/10th of an acre building plot, which provided plenty of room for everything Zion wanted to include.4 William Whyte notes in his film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces ''that part of the reason for the parks success is its location directly off the side walk as to “invite people to look in and enter.”[vi] The entire park is elevated a couple feet above the level of the side walk on a concrete and granite base. The purpose of elevating the park was to create a degree of separation between the people relaxing and those hustling by on the street. The park is bordered by two vertical lawns of English Ivy, which provide a natural setting.4 The back wall and focus of the park is a twenty foot tall water fall, which ties the park together. The waterfall does provide a natural soothing element to the park, but it also serves to drown out the noise of the city.2 Inside the park there are seventeen Honey Locus trees and assorted potted plants. The Honey Locus tree doesn’t have thick foliage, but it provides sufficient shade for patrons without drowning out the natural sun. Another attractive feature of the park is the moveable wire mesh chairs. The moveable chairs allow people to sit in odd numbered groups or to arrange themselves as to hear a speaker.6 The park also hosts a food kiosk at the front, where visitors can indulge in hotdogs or coffee while in the park. As flaws were found in the design of the park they were corrected and in 1999 two wheelchair ramps were added to make the park more handicap accessible. Paley Park not only provides a place to escape from the hectic city, but it has also brought prestige, art, and community events to the area. Since its inception the park has been a popular retreat for both locals and tourist for activities including: reading, eating, leisure, and smoking. Untapped New York’s Benjamin Waldman called the park “a hidden oasis in midtown,” which defines the underlying purpose of the park, to create a haven within the city.[vii] Also according to author of ''Great City Parks, Alan Tate, Paley Park “creates the optimal micro-climate.” Paley Park was also named a ‘Great Public Space’ by the Project for Public Spaces, which brought even more prestige to the area. Starting in the 1990’s, Paley Park hosted a twelve foot section of the Berlin Wall for over a decade. The side of the wall faced out and was covered in elaborate paintings by German artists Thierry Noir and Kiddy Citny. According to Lauran Beigler “the most remarkable aspect of the park is the authentic piece of the Berlin Wall.”7 The small pocket park also hosts an annual Smoke Out with La Palina Cigars, which has been a success for multiple years.[ix] With the smoking ban in public parks in New York, the event provides a rare opportunity for cigar smokers, because the park is privately owned. The event also has significant value in remembering Samuel Paley, because his wealth earned through his cigar company. Although the Paley Park design was expensive and located in one of the most grandiose cities in the world, Zion’s idea of a small urban park can be implemented on a smaller scale. On March 8, 2012 the city of Spartanburg, in a private-public partnership, opened a new pocket park downtown next to the Hub City Bookshop.[x] The publicly owned park is 1,600 square feet and cost a total of $40,000 to complete.10 Before the park was built the area next to the bookstore was being used as an ally way between two businesses. Local community leaders had the idea of putting the space to use a pocket park similar to Zion’s design of Paley Park. The space was an ideal location for a park, because it is located near stores including: a bookstore, a wine house, and a bakery. Groups such as Upstate Forever, Hub Culture, the Masonic Corporation, and other private donors financed $20,000 for the parks construction. The city of Spartanburg matched the funds and contributed $20,000 to the project. Mayor Junnie White noted that “public-private partnerships make creating unique public spaces possible during tight budget years.” He also stated the goal of the park was to “encourage young professionals to mingle, shop, and believe in the future of Spartanburg's downtown.”10 The park, designed by LandArt Designs and Parris Lawn Management, is only 1,200 square feet. The small park is inviting and also creates an intimate feeling with the surroundings. The base of the park is brick separated by gravel, which allows water to run off without pooling. The base of the park also hosts a set railroad tracks that run the length of the park. The tracks are authentic and were donated to the park by a local steel company.[xi] The tracks help connect the park to Spartanburg’s unique history as a railroad hub. The park is open a two ends and is bordered by two brick walls that show the age of the buildings. The designers purposely made no effort to restore the brick walls, leaving even the reinforcement bolts exposed. The park also hosts tables and chairs encouraging visitors to come in and sit down. It is also decorated with small trees and bushes spread in intervals throughout the park. The foliage brings a natural and relaxing element to the park. According to Betsy Teeter, the executive director of Hub City Writers the park “is one of the few successful parks in Spartanburg.”11 She attributed the success of the park to how visitor friendly the park is. The park is located directly off of the sidewalk, nestled in between a wine house, a bookstore, and a bakery. The size of the park makes visitors feel comfortable, which allows them to relax. The park has shaded areas for people to read and Wi-Fi access for those who want to use the internet. Spartanburg’s pocket park represents a framework based on Zion’s original idea that could be implemented in a smaller city. A pocket park provides the opportunity for a city to take a vacant lot and produce a great public space for its citizens. Since they are inherently small in nature, a pocket park can be constructed even with budget cuts. Both Paley Park’s private donation and Spartanburg’s public-private partnership provide alternatives to entirely public funded projects. Pocket parks may be customized in many different ways, but location, design, and seating are key factors to the park’s success.